urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and TransportationAlign capacity with demand, boost efficiency, and improve the traveler experience.172013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00IBM Connections - Blogsurn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-e115c2b7-42de-4b23-a595-301c48a9a9e8Airline customer care is now your Digital Travel AgencyPeter Monkpeter.monk@au1.ibm.com2700062R5TactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-04-03T06:44:27-04:002013-04-03T06:44:27-04:00<P>&nbsp;Airline customer care is now your Digital Travel Agency - It keeps you, the traveler, at the center of the travel experience</P>
<P>How you plan and book your travel has changed, drastically. And what changes your world also changes the world of business. This is no different for an Airline. Each interaction between the traveler and the airline creates a critical moment for the airline and their brand.</P>
<P><BR>Technology and mobile devices offer you better control. The personal tablet helps you research for the best deals online and you can plan and buy your tickets directly from the website. If you had an unhappy experience, you can post reviews and share your unpleasant experience. Behavioral changes such as these influence shifts in the market. Today, travel represents the largest eCommerce category especially led by tickets and ancillary sales. </P>
<P><BR>According to IBM 2012 Study on New Routes to Profitability, financially successful carriers invest more heavily in customer marketing activities. The study reports that most of the leading carriers plan to increase investments in technologies that will bring them closer to their customers. For example 95% of carriers plan to increase mobile interactions in the next five years.<BR></P>
<P>Traditionally, an airline’s call centre performed two fundamental roles: handled reservations and customer queries - on issues like baggage loss. Increasingly, however, airlines are transforming their call center operation to operate as your Digital Travel Agency offering true customer care.&nbsp; As your personal travel advisor, the customer care agent, and the related digital multi-channels, helps you plan your travel, book your seat with extra leg room, ensure you are booked at your favorite hotel and reserve the cab for your pick-up at the airport. The airline also responds to your queries on Twitter, through twitter handle, such as @AirCanada</P>
<P><BR>The technology enabled Digital Travel Agency increasingly helps the airline both reduce the cost to serve and increase revenue. A catalog of air fares and travel packages are available to you real time. Volumes of customer data on travel reservations, itinerary, loyalty program information, and search histories help extract valuable travel insights. Agents use these insights to determine which products best align with each traveler and identify opportunities to cross sell ancillary products such as hotel stays or travel cards. Tactical strategies such as these help airlines increase stickiness and share of wallet. <BR></P>
<P>Supported by industry leading technologies in analytics, big data, and digital marketing, your travel advisor, the Digital Travel Agency, keep you, the traveler at the center of the travel experience with better control and high touch service through the web, voice, social media and more. </P>
<P>This generates a win for the traveler and a win for the airline, all enabled by the Digital Travel Agency!</P>&nbsp;Airline customer care is now your Digital Travel Agency - It keeps you, the traveler, at the center of the travel experience
How you plan and book your travel has changed, drastically. And what changes your world also changes the world of business....00662urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-98cb646c-e6f4-4cc6-88aa-582544bb25acDubai’s exclusive A380 terminal, and the travails of airlines/industry @ mega airportsRavi Seshadriravi.seshadri@in.ibm.com270006698EactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-03-16T01:13:07-04:002013-03-16T01:13:07-04:00&nbsp;<p>In early January 2013, perhaps the world’s first ever airport terminal
created to cater exclusively to one aircraft type, was rolled into
service: Dubai’s dedicated A380 facility named ‘Concourse 3′ opened to commercial operations.</p><p align="center"><a href="http://raviseshadri.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/dubais-exclusive-a380-terminal-and-what-it-augurs-to-global-aviation/t3-dubai/" rel="attachment wp-att-2"><img alt="t3-dubai" class="size-medium wp-image-2 alignleft" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/t3-dubai.jpg?w=300&amp;h=212" height="274" width="389"></a></p>
<p>The new facility has as many as 20 parking positions directly
at the terminal, and another 13 at remote stands on the tarmac. In
addition the terminal features separate boarding air-bridges for
first class and business, together with jumbo waiting areas to
accommodate up to 800-odd passengers, at each gate.</p>
<p>This terminal, built at a cost of $4.5 billion,&nbsp;boasts of a built-up
area equivalent to 94 football fields, can handle 43 million passengers
and takes the capacity of Dubai International Airport (DXB) to over 60
million annually [see '<a href="http://www.dubaiairport.com/en/media-centre/facts-figures/Pages/factsheets-reports-statistics.aspx?id=7">fact sheets</a> from Dubai Airport].</p>
<p><a href="http://raviseshadri.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/dubais-exclusive-a380-terminal-and-what-it-augurs-to-global-aviation/dubai-airport-terminal-3-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-58"><img alt="dubai-airport-terminal-3-1" class="alignnone wp-image-58 aligncenter" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dubai-airport-terminal-3-1.jpg?w=400&amp;h=200" height="200" width="400"></a></p>
<p>When combined with the other concourses that are under construction,
the DXB total&nbsp;capacity jumps to over 90 million. Bear in mind the
current traffic is closer to half this number: some 50 million
passengers&nbsp;traveled&nbsp;through this airport&nbsp;in 2011 [see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_busiest_airports_by_international_passenger_traffic">ACI data</a>]</p>
<p>A historic moment this, no doubt, in the checkered history of
global&nbsp;aviation; but it is also opportune to pause here and reflect on
what this means to the industry today and in future.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly, the rise of hubs in the Middle East provide a
much-needed alternative to the traditional – tired and tiring – transit
gateways in Europe viz. London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and
other similarly crowded routes through Frankfurt or Amsterdam.
(Incidentally these Big 4 together accounted for more than a quarter of
all traffic in the world’s 30 busiest airports in 2011.) And yes, it is
likely that service quality at the Middle Eastern airports will be
better than that seen in Europe.</p>
<p><i>However will this redress the deeper, more perplexing issues ailing global aviation in the longer term?<span id="more-6"></span></i></p>
<p><font color="#0000ff"><b>Who pays for this?</b></font></p>
<p>Airline business is characterized by its near-zero operating returns,
much in contrast with airports where the range is 11-20%. Forgettably,
airports depend almost entirely on airlines to bring in the traffic and
retail footfalls. Adding a shining new mega airport to the lot is not
likely to change this fundamental reality. Airlines will continue – as
far into the future that we can see – to reel under competitive,
governmental, environmental, and a host of other pressures; and struggle
to keep their business viable.</p>
<p><font color="#0000ff"><i><b>Over-sized&nbsp;/ under-utilized airport capacity invariably
adds to the operational costs of the airline – through higher landing
fees and other user charges, thus further aggravating &nbsp;the industry’s
value equation</b>.</i></font></p>
<p>Agreed, this may not be entirely true in the case of Terminal 3 or
the entire Dubai Airport: both the airport and its main airline operator
– Emirates, are entirely owned by the Government of Dubai. And it would
not matter much for now, how the costs get &nbsp;apportioned between two
agencies of the same owner. Also since the Dubai Government views
aviation as one of its strategic investment areas for helping the
emirate to bounce back into economic resurgence after the financial
crisis in recent years, it might not be in a terrible hurry for returns.</p>
<p>Moreover, since Terminal 3 is exclusively for use by Emirates (with
Qantas as the only other airline sharing the A380 concourse, starting
April 2013) – it is rather unlikely that airlines will soon get to bear
the burden of financing DXB Terminal 3.</p>
<p>However the point to note here is, large opulent airports do not
necessarily translate into the industry’s well-being; they might just
showcase the deep pockets or regional ambitions of their promoters, and
little else. And when the promoters look for returns – as they surely
will, sooner or later – the noose tightens&nbsp;around the airlines’ neck.</p>
<p><font color="#0000ff"><b>So does this mean, only state-owned airports backed by
governments with fiscal expansion policies should build billion-dollar
terminals ?</b></font></p>
<p>I think this is where the issue gets a lot more nuanced.</p>
<p>To start with, let us examine the pricing model adopted at most
airports. Aeronautical revenues – earned by the airport for&nbsp;services or
facilities related to the processing of&nbsp;aircraft, passengers and cargo –
consists among others, of the landing fee: while ICAO mandates that the
landing fee at airport should be based on the maximum permissible
takeoff weight (MTOW) and computed as a rate per 1000 kg, the actual
landing fees vary widely from one airport to another, and pricing
process vary from competitive bidding to rather arbitrary government
diktats.</p>
<p>And here the airport promoters’ business outlook plays a
crucial role. If the promoters are keen on recouping investments in
infrastructure quickly – as with corporate financiers driven by market
expectations and quarterly earnings pressure, they would depreciate
their assets faster and pass them on to airlines through higher landing
fees. <font color="#0000ff"><i><b>Airports with a longer term view of their infrastructure investments are therefore more aligned to airlines’ interests.</b></i></font></p>
<p>Perhaps the key here is to separate mega infrastructure expansions
with huge capital outlay, from running the operations at the airport.
Airport operations is a very different business and has several
similarities with the hospitality and retail industries. By issuing
operating licenses through competitive bidding airports can be
efficiently managed and run as a successful business, while the
multiple-year infrastructure projects can be owned and managed with a
longer term outlook.</p>
<p>Another issue that has been bitterly disputed between airlines and
airports, is the treatment of non-aeronautical revenues (charges for
ancillary services at the airport, including rentals from retail
concessionaires, land-side parking facilities etc). While some airports
maintain this is not a subject to discuss with airlines and keep a
separate account of it (this is referred to as dual till), airlines
argue that these revenue streams exist only because of the passengers
they bring to the airport and therefore airports should account for all
revenues while determining charges (aka single till).</p>
<p>By de-linking infrastructure expansions from routine airport
operations, governments and airport authorities would not only find the
single till approach more acceptable, but also develop a wider variety
of investors to fund their capital-intensive long-gestation projects and
thus reduce dependence on aero revenues.</p>
<p><font color="#0000ff"><b>Finally, to the rather unpopular question: do we need our opulent airport terminals?</b></font></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://raviseshadri.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/dubais-exclusive-a380-terminal-and-what-it-augurs-to-global-aviation/dubai-airport-terminal-iii-27/" rel="attachment wp-att-59"><img alt="Dubai Airport Terminal III 27" class=" wp-image-59 aligncenter" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dubai-airport-terminal-iii-27.jpg?w=500&amp;h=229" height="229" width="500"></a></p>
<p>In this age when “greed is good”, and big is beautiful, this question
is almost out of place. But lest we forget, an airport terminal exists
to serve a very limited function: process passengers and cargo, in
compliance with local customs laws; and provide a safe and secure
passage between the air-side and land-side.</p>
<p>Technology today provides very efficient and effective solutions to
handling crowd flows and cargo movements so that several million
passengers can be processed annually within a modest-sized building.
Instead we choose to have sprawling terminals bigger than several dozen
football fields, and then expect the airlines to pay for their
air-conditioning and upkeep. Fair proposition?</p>
<h3 style="text-align:center;">ooo0O0ooo</h3>
&nbsp; In early January 2013, perhaps the world’s first ever airport terminal
created to cater exclusively to one aircraft type, was rolled into
service: Dubai’s dedicated A380 facility named ‘Concourse 3′ opened to commercial operations.
The new...00573urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-0fe89bc6-15da-49f4-80be-4d2dcb8fb639Why should an airline go to Cloud?Ravi Seshadriravi.seshadri@in.ibm.com270006698EactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-03-16T00:43:26-04:002013-03-16T00:43:26-04:00&nbsp;Once upon a time – it seems aeons ago – the airline industry had
spearheaded the adoption of innovative technologies to build its
business globally. Today, the industry that pioneered the use of
computing power and networks as early as in 1960s to sell its inventory
worldwide with the Global Distribution Systems (a fancy name for
computerized reservation services), is fumbling and faltering to adopt a
somewhat similarly radical idea: access computing resources as an
on-demand service and pay by usage.
<p><a href="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/airline-cloud.jpg"><img alt="airline cloud" class="size-full wp-image-98 aligncenter" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/airline-cloud.jpg?w=791" height="292" width="391"></a></p>
<p><span style="font-style:inherit;line-height:1.625;">Coming to think
of this, the idea to de-link capital-intensive segments in a value chain
and hive them into a separate industry that builds it and offers it as a
service, has been around for quite a while. Think electrical power.
When we turn on a laptop we don’t pause for a moment to check if the
power plant is running. Power generation is completely de-linked from
distribution, and is now available as a utility service and paid by
usage by the consumer.</span></p>
<p>In strikingly similar lines, Cloud essentially involves sharing of
resources (which could be clunky infrastructure, platforms, software,
data, and perhaps anything else that can be shared) over a network. And
yes, this way of making technology and tech products available as a
pay-by-use service, does offer significantly higher levels of
flexibility to companies in what technologies to use and how, at lower
cost.</p>
<p>The pioneering spirit has been clearly missing in adopting the Cloud –
airlines have worried long and hard about data security, 24×7
availability and such.&nbsp;Of late however, a few have recognized the <b><i>lower costs</i></b> from scalability and flexibility that a cloud-based solution can offer, and have begun to embrace it for that purpose.</p>
<p><i>But is<b> lower costs</b> likely to deliver airlines from their seemingly bottomless abyss? &nbsp; &nbsp;</i><i>Or give them lasting competitive advantage?</i></p>
<p>Airlines have been on a cost-reduction drive for years now; they
shaved off more than half their costs per available seat-kilometer (or
ASK) from about a decade ago (source: <a href="http://www.iata.org/publications/economics/market-issues/Pages/costs.aspx" target="_blank" title="Airline Cost Performance data">IATA airline cost performance data</a>),
but have not been rewarded with the profitability or customer loyalty
they had hoped. So lowering costs cannot be a road to excellence, rather
it is a survival-requisite. Again, every airline can adopt the Cloud
for lower costs, hence nullifying any competitive advantage whatsoever.</p>
<p><i>Then, why should an airline go to the Cloud?</i></p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/images.jpg"><img alt="images" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-97" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/images.jpg?w=791" height="241" width="388"></a></p>
<p>The strategic purpose with which a solution is adopted has a huge
impact on the way the solution shapes up over time. Therefore it is more
important perhaps to understand and agree upon the ‘why’ of an
initiative than the ‘what’ or ‘how’.</p>
<p>The answer to the question, if you ask me, is to foster&nbsp;<i><b><span style="color:#0000ff;">INNOVATION</span></b></i>.</p>
<p>The Cloud gives the industry an opportunity, perhaps for the first time in its 100 year history, to <i>reinvent</i> the airline corporation, <i>redefine</i> the way it works with its customers, and <i>rewrite</i> its relationship with all its stakeholders.</p>
<p>Exactly how an airline goes about to achieve this – with the myriad
choices it makes along the way – will give it a unique identity and
perhaps a sustainable competitive advantage.</p>
<p><span style="color:#0000ff;"><i>Reinvent the airline corporation</i></span></p>
<p>Access to technology across the airline organization can be in
several different ways with the Cloud: it is no longer necessary to
ponder over trade-offs in choosing one product/technology over another –
a variety of technologies and tools can be adopted simultaneously by
the organization over a pay-by-use model, thus avoiding&nbsp;upfront
purchases of expensive and infrequently used software. This enables the
airline organization to provide its staff with access to powerful yet
nimble technologies anytime, anywhere; and integrate the myriad tools
seamlessly to provide an organization-wide intelligence that is current,
accurate and creative. Such an organization is very different from the
typical carrier we know – saddled with clunky hardware, obsolete tools,
&nbsp;and incomplete data flowing through filters of organization silos – and
is not much short of a reinvention.</p>
<p><span style="color:#0000ff;"><i>Redefine the customer engagement</i></span></p>
<p>Perhaps one of the reasons for airlines to languish with near-zero
profits is their rather weak engagement with the customer before and
after the journey: travel agents/GDS play a big role as intermediaries
and often own the relationship with customer, limiting the airline to
play a ‘secondary’ role as service provider.</p>
<p>The Cloud allows airlines to engage with the customer and consumer
directly on mobile/social channels anytime anywhere, and at negligible
marginal cost. This direct connection between the service provider and
service consumer can potentially build a rich and deep relationship that
benefits both sides. The customer can choose to reveal more about
his/her travel habits and preferences, while the airline can use this
information to segment its target and tailor offerings more closely.</p>
<p>Direct connection with the customer also enables the airline to bring
to market innovations that matter, with shorter turnaround and
consistently better execution – which over time can build lasting
relationship and perhaps loyalty with the customer.</p>
<p><span style="color:#0000ff;"><i>Rewrite equation with stakeholders</i></span></p>
<p>Airlines today typically operate at 1-2% profitability, while all
other business stakeholders in the value chain are at 10 times higher
levels or more. Armed with direct and deep relationship with the
end-customer and with an intelligent, flat, organization empowered with
current and relevant information, the airline can acquire a
significantly larger share of bargaining power and thus rewrite its
equation with its business partners – GDS, airports, other service
providers. While the change might not happen overnight, it is inevitable
since universally the entity that owns client-relationship has the
biggest say.</p>
<p>Airlines need to realize the promise that the Cloud has –
in&nbsp;democratizing&nbsp;access to technology both within the organization and
outside in the larger ecosystem, and the contribution this can make to
fundamentally recast the industry structure – this time to the airlines’
advantage.</p>
<p><span style="font-style:inherit;line-height:1.625;">If however,
airlines see the Cloud only as a cost-trimmer and implement it as such,
they will result in a industry-wide lower cost curve but with no better
revenues or profitability. And an opportunity of a 100 years, wasted.</span></p>
<p align="right"><a href="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/images-1.jpg"><img alt="images (1)" class="size-full wp-image-96 alignright" src="http://raviseshadri.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/images-1.jpg?w=791" height="313" width="457"></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-style:inherit;line-height:1.625;">….ooO0Ooo…</span></p>
&nbsp;Once upon a time – it seems aeons ago – the airline industry had
spearheaded the adoption of innovative technologies to build its
business globally. Today, the industry that pioneered the use of
computing power and networks as early as in 1960s to...00748urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-3f20a5a6-6ecb-4ba1-a23d-970b6e7743eaCommunity based call centre operations with local universitiesPeter Monkpeter.monk@au1.ibm.com2700062R5TactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-02-15T21:11:39-05:002013-02-18T22:16:35-05:00<P>Community based call centre operations with local universities<BR>“Thinking Global and Acting Local” - Airlines can make this happen</P>
<P>Airlines are doing everything possible to help them lower costs and improve yields. Alliances and joint ventures (Read Etihad Airways and Jet Airlines or Delta's oil refinery purchase) to enable economies of scale, better asset utilization and more choice to travelers.</P>
<P>Running efficiency programs from consolidating call center operations and introducing self-service options are examples of significant steps being taken. With travel being the largest e-commerce category, mostly led by airline ticket sales (Source:&nbsp; The Future of Airline Distribution A Look Ahead To 2017), airlines are increasingly focusing on generating direct sales via their websites and mobile applications -- their lowest cost sales channels. Targeting efficiency programs for call centre operation is, however, not far behind.</P>
<P>Besides managing the agenda of “BAU” operating cost reductions and taking advantage of global delivery capabilities, Airlines can also explore IBM’s alternate community based delivery model, leveraging a flexible student work-force and creating jobs and wealth in the community local to the airline’s brand.</P>
<P>IBM’s onshore call centre operations, in partnership with local universities, can help airlines take advantage of an attractive alternate source of labour.&nbsp; This unique proposition for the universities can support students with scholarships, ‘earn as you learn’ programs, mentoring benefits and access to industry best practices. The airline, in return, gets access to a highly skilled and flexible workforce, gaining the benefit of IBM “Thinking Global and Acting Local”, while the students benefit from being employment ready as they graduate from universities.</P>
<P>This proposition is proving to be extremely attractive for local universities, as they help drive better enrollments among students and the rostering at the community based delivery centres are planned in-line with the university calendar and student study and exam commitments.</P>
<P>In addition to the community and quality benefits for airline, this model also drives call centre operational savings up to 20%. Airlines can then further augment these savings steps with IBM’s process improvement best practices and delivery excellence capabilities driving up to an additional&nbsp; 15% operational savings. </P>Community based call centre operations with local universities “Thinking Global and Acting Local” - Airlines can make this happen
Airlines are doing everything possible to help them lower costs and improve yields. Alliances and joint ventures (Read Etihad...001873urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-0ceebb80-4493-4880-9bd7-a4212c2003a8What Travel CMOs can learn from TweetsTom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-01-17T11:01:11-05:002013-01-17T11:01:41-05:00<div>&nbsp;Taking advantage of insights from social media analysis can move the industry from mass marketing to the ability for marketers to design travel offers and
services tailored to what travelers – like you and I – are telling them.
Customized incentives and products can address fast-moving trends and
real time customer needs. Travel providers must find ways to surprise
and “delight” their customers to remain competitive. What better way to
drive brand loyalty than an irresistible offer that makes a customer
view travel as fun again.</div><div><a href="http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2012/12/22007.html">What Travel CMOs can learn from tweets</a> <br></div><div>&nbsp;</div>
&nbsp;Taking advantage of insights from social media analysis can move the industry from mass marketing to the ability for marketers to design travel offers and
services tailored to what travelers – like you and I – are telling them.
Customized incentives...00721urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-198b2f72-27a0-481f-b57e-51c3e8854babTravel Weekly - Playing nice with others in travel distributionTom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2013-01-17T10:28:42-05:002013-01-17T10:29:13-05:00<div>&nbsp;Travel suppliers need to do a couple of things that the mere thought of gives most executives hives: share customer information and partner with rivals.</div><div><a href="http://www.travelweekly.com/Plus/Beyond-the-Basics/Travel-2020-IBM-online-travel-distribution-dilemma/?cid=eltrTWP">Travel Weekly - Jan 8, 2012</a> <br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div>
&nbsp;Travel suppliers need to do a couple of things that the mere thought of gives most executives hives: share customer information and partner with rivals. Travel Weekly - Jan 8, 2012 &nbsp; &nbsp;00524urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-97f7abd6-7b29-4868-b649-f0fb667c3230Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Decisons, Decisions, DecisionsTom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-12-04T11:45:22-05:002012-12-04T11:45:22-05:00<div>As we begin the holiday season in many countries, families like mine are making travel plans that can require complex decisions about the best way to travel door to door.&nbsp; My family is spread across 5 states and 3000 miles in the USA.&nbsp; My eldest son and his wife who live in California are flying to my home in North Carolina, and they wisely booked their tickets months ago. Son number two lives in Boston, and he chose to fly to Washington DC to meet his sister and then they will drive to my house together. They could have decided to fly, take the Amtrak train,&nbsp; or use one of the inexpensive express bus services. Another daughter will be traveling from Virginia and she has a similar choice of methods to get home for the holiday.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>I think it's safe to assume that most of us decide how to travel by balancing the importance of cost, time, and convenience for each trip. Every person weighs these criteria differently based on their own circumstances, schedule availability, pricing, and perhaps most importantly - the hassle involved in traveling the first and last mile. But every trip is different.&nbsp; Travel time may be the most important criteria for a one day business trip, while cost is most important for an international vacation.&nbsp; Flying is normally the fastest but often the most expensive option, plus you have to get to and from the airport.&nbsp; Trains are great if you live near a station, but if you don't, you'll need a driver, taxi, or subway on both ends of the trip.&nbsp; If we have access to a car, many of us default to driving because of the door to door convenience and privacy, even though it may take more time and we risk holiday traffic jams. </div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But let's assume for a moment that you are traveling somewhere and you have a choice of flying from a nearby airport, taking a train from the city center, or driving a car.&nbsp; Considering only distance, what are the breaking points which lead us to choose one mode over another? &nbsp; Do you always fly if it's more than 500 miles? Would you prefer the train for 250-500 mile trips? Are you a committed driver who uses a car regardless of the distance?&nbsp;&nbsp; <br><br>Here are my personal rules of thumb: If the trip takes less than 5 hours to drive (roughly 300 miles), I'll usually drive&nbsp; because I enjoy the privacy. Sometimes I'll even rent a car if necessary. But if I am traveling 500 miles or less and there is a train station near my destination, I'll choose the train over driving because I can sleep, work, or eat on the train. Flying is my third choice, primarily because of the airport hassle and because I perceive greater risk of being delayed or inconvenienced.&nbsp; So in summary, my preferences for trips under 500 miles are train (if available), car, and airplane in that order. For trips from 300-500 miles, I'd prefer the train if there is one. And for over 500 miles, flying is the default.&nbsp; I think the success of high speed trains over airlines for trips under 500 miles in Europe and Japan indicate that I am not alone. </div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>How do you decide whether to fly, drive or take the train?&nbsp; What are the mileage clip levels that effect your decisions? <br></div><div>&nbsp;</div>As we begin the holiday season in many countries, families like mine are making travel plans that can require complex decisions about the best way to travel door to door.&nbsp; My family is spread across 5 states and 3000 miles in the USA.&nbsp; My eldest son...01942urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-318dd2ae-3f01-4e4e-8f61-532e5a1e97b6Who do we serve?Kanishka Agiwalkaagiwal@in.ibm.com2700005DJFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-08-21T11:09:17-04:002012-08-21T11:09:17-04:00<div>Consider a scenario: You walk into an airport, checkin your bags, collect your boarding pass and then head to duty free or perhaps for a quick bite. Suddenly your phone beeps with an SMS that gives you a discount coupon to use at KFC for their signature buffalo wings. All good, except that you are a vegetarian and the coupon goes straight to the deleted items folder. Airport retail and location based marketing is real but without the right customer data to back it up with, things can often go wrong with this blanket marketing to anyone who passes by the store.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Now what if the airline had shared this data with the airport (dietary preference is one of the most basic passenger data most airlines collect) and then the airport used it to smartly target a promotion from a salad bar instead of KFC. Or what if the airport knew you had 3 hours to kill while you wait for your connection and lured you into a more relaxed dining center, maybe a massage or a lounge. As revenue models for airlines change, the data they sit on for each passenger can yield a treasure trove of insights for themselves as well as their partners if used and shared in the right manner. It opens up a symbiotic relationship between the airline and the airport, where passenger experience at the airport plays an equally important role as it does onboard an aircraft and airlines would like to drive more passengers via a particular airport over another.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Much of the challenge in sharing this data today is around integrated systems between airports and airlines, the trust each has with the other on how the data would be used, the integrity of the data and most importantly, fiercely guarding it from competition.&nbsp; At airports that are exclusive to a single airline this is easier to implement but a majority of the airports with disparate systems even within their own IT infrastructure, this can be a huge transformation effort. Some of the advancements that is beginning to shape this vision leveraging an interconnected airport bringing together all the systems of an airport under a single command and control center. Add to that linkages to airlines customer databases and analytical engines and we may just have a precise answer to the question: "Who do we serve?" and taking a step ahead, "How do we serve?"<br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Targeted marketing and smarter commerce is here to stay. So how do you want to surprise, delight and turn your customers into advocates for you?<br></div>Consider a scenario: You walk into an airport, checkin your bags, collect your boarding pass and then head to duty free or perhaps for a quick bite. Suddenly your phone beeps with an SMS that gives you a discount coupon to use at KFC for their signature...001133urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-07ae53a5-3b25-4834-a6c2-224ca745915eThe "price" of airline pricing schemesSteven J Petersonsteve.peterson@us.ibm.com270001J2M9activeComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-07-26T15:05:37-04:002012-07-26T15:36:45-04:00&nbsp; <br><div class="entryContentContainer"><wbr><wbr><wbr><wbr>Technology has been the impetus for many of the most
innovative changes in airline management in the past 50 years, including the
advent of central reservation systems, the development of automated scheduling
systems, and the observed dominance of electronic tickets. Sophisticated yield
management systems surely belong in the airline pantheon of technology-driven
innovations as well, so as airlines are re-thinking reservations systems, and
updating their scheduling systems, perhaps they would do well to put yield
management under the microscope too.
<wbr><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>Yield management is the term given to the set of systems and
processes used to set and adjust prices according to constantly changing set of
demand variables such as class of service, fare flexibility, time of day, week,
month and year. This effect is brought about by controlling the number of each
type of seat available for sale on each flight as well as the prices and
promotions for each class of inventory. In economic terms, yield management is
the technology enabled magic that helps an airline extract the maximum possible
willingness to pay from each customer to optimize the airline’s overall yield,
or profit, for each flight.</p><wbr><wbr><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>In addition to the finite costs of yield management organizations,
including yield management staff, their tools, and the corporate overhead
needed to support them; yield management also takes a toll on customers. Travelers
spend an inordinate amount of time in the travel search and booking process,
and few would suggest that this makes customers more satisfied with their final
purchases. IBM’s Travel 2020 study that focuses on travel distribution confirms
both of these assertions.</p><wbr><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>But customers don't see neatly managed buckets of inventory,
an endless string of yield modifiers, and fancy algorithms used to predict the
number of no-shows on a given flight. Instead they see prices that seem to
change every 10 minutes, and fare rules that read like their mortgage
application. What is more, as the result of constant advertizing about fare
sales, and available discounts, customers are often left with the feeling that
no matter how little they paid, someone on the flight got a better deal.</p><wbr><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr><wbr></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>Customers may see airline pricing schemes as a game in which
the rules are either too obscured, or too complex to understand. Prices seem to
change continuously, and seats that look available often vanish before payment
has been made. Fare rules are rarely user-friendly, and using frequent flyer
miles to purchase a ticket can prove frustrating even for the seasoned
traveler. But like any game, once the rules are understood, players often
adjust their behavior.</p><wbr> <br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>Playing the yield management game well improves revenue at many
airlines, and it might even push profitability in the right direction from time
to time, but it does so with an impact on the customer experience. </p><wbr><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr><wbr></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>A precise tally of the full costs of yield management are,
of course, specific to each individual carrier, but considering that the
revenue management department (a substantial portion of whom are typically
involved in yield management) is often among the largest non customer-facing departments
at most carriers, it is clear that yield management activities are costly. It
is entirely possible that yield management costs and airline between one and
two dollars per sold seat. Add to that the less tangible costs associated with
customer dissatisfaction cased by the uncertainly and complexity yield
management demands, and it becomes clear that the benefits of yield management
have an increasing high cost justification hurdle to clear.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr></p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>Economic theory suggests that a firm should rely on the
market to provide services that they cannot provide or obtain more efficiently,
so as the travel distribution market continues to get more efficient, airlines
must reassess the return on yield management. Executives must be sure that the
efficiency of yield management-driven pricing compares favorably to market-priced
airfares that are generated by travel distribution intermediaries.</p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr></p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>Consider the example of the search engines that use
predictive technologies to partially expose the ‘yield curve’ of an airline by
estimating how prices will change over time and by helping customers zero-in on
the best time to buy. This enables search engine users, who might never visit
the airline website, to make more optimal purchase decisions based on current
pricing as well as forecasted price fluctuations. In response, customers may opt
to accelerate or delay purchases to get the best deals, and this activity of
course gets factored into the yield management process. In time, this cycle may
continue to reduce the return carriers get from their yield management
investments.</p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>&nbsp;<wbr></p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>In this scenario an airline might consider selling larger
buckets of inventory on a wholesale basis to travel intermediaries and reducing
the direct investments in the yield management function. Sales to
intermediaries might generate less profit, but they might also help produce
happier, less frustrated customers. More satisfied customers might also be
willing to spend more on lucrative airline products, services, and upgrades. In
any case, this is an important enough set of decisions that the assumptions
about positive returns on yield management should give way to mathematical
models that prove (or disprove) this value.</p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>&nbsp;<wbr></p><wbr>
<p class="MsoNormal"><wbr>To industry traditionalists these suggestions will no doubt
sound like heresy, but to the industry innovators, and more importantly the
mass of customers whose needs are not well serviced by the current pricing
mechanisms used by most carriers, these are questions worth asking. Because some
members of travel distribution marketplace might be pondering these
possibilities right now, it might be better for airline executives to answer
these questions as soon as possible.</p></div>
&nbsp; Technology has been the impetus for many of the most
innovative changes in airline management in the past 50 years, including the
advent of central reservation systems, the development of automated scheduling
systems, and the observed dominance of...02970urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-5476cd64-f2fc-4feb-a753-660fc178606aNext-Gen Travel: Are You Ready?Kanishka Agiwalkaagiwal@in.ibm.com2700005DJFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-07-24T13:15:53-04:002012-11-28T16:46:08-05:00<div>&nbsp;<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Travel is changing. The way we
travel and interact with the ecosystem is undergoing a dynamic shift – look around,
mobile boarding pass, trusted traveler programs, automated baggage drop are some
of the latest advancements in making the journey a bit more enjoyable and less
of a chore. While premium travel continues to strive to drive new heights
around comfort and luxury, a vast majority is poised to benefit from system and
technology advancements that are centered around them. Here are a few to look
out for:</span></div><div>&nbsp;</div>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Mobility</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">
– Look out for boarding passes, tickets, positive IDs to land on your
mobile phones directly. As security agencies begin to warm up to the idea
of accepting a boarding pass on a mobile and new technologies such as NFCs
proliferate, this is poised to be a big one that will have a direct impact
around passenger convenience. But that is not all. Consider airport
location based services esp. retail, that can sense when a passenger
passes via a burger joint and pushes a discount coupon. How about it
senses which airline you are flying and offers an additional discount at
its restaurant? The possibilities are vast and the access to consumer/passenger
analytics can be a treasure trove to mine.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Seamless, multi modal travel</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"> – One ticket to conquer them all. No more multiple portals,
multiple tickets to carry. A single ticket for all modes of travel in your
journey and let the travel provider figure out the various modes and the
interlinkages in the backend. As a passenger, figuring out which mode of
travel to take during the various legs of the journey, aligning them
right, comparing prices across providers, booking multiple tickets can be
very stressful if not confusing.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Personalised Offers</span></b><span style="font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">
– The banking industry has been doing it for some time now. The loan you
get approved fro can be very different from what another colleague gets
despite similar financial net worth, since your credit scores differ; the
way you shop and save is different. Increasingly, travel companies are
differentiating their offers between not just customer segments but also
between customers in the same segment. If you have your meal at the lounge
every time before you fly, they may not want to offer the ability to
purchase one on board since the probability of you buying one is very low
or if you have always been at the window then there is no sense in
offering an aisle for a fee.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Next-gen Social Networks – </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The social networks used by travel companies will start
to go beyond being a channel for mind share. They are increasingly
becoming the new age contact centers for bouquets and brickbats, with a
very high degree of amplification. Information is being pulled and aggregated,
and with great credibility – far more than what any company promotional
material can speak about. Not to mention the minute details that are laid
bare ranging from which seats have the audio video on demand boxes
underneath (and hence less leg room) to airhostess behavior to tips on
getting great last minute fares to rail coach step height from the
platform. The social network will soon be a tool that will drive
innovation, operational excellence and higher standard in customer
servicing from travel companies.</span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Travel companies have already
started to think, execute and in some early adopter cases, also deliver against
these. As a passenger, this is bound to get better in days to come. For a
provider, these are exciting times to drive innovation and work to make the
industry climb up to the next stage of maturity.</span></p>
&nbsp; Travel is changing. The way we
travel and interact with the ecosystem is undergoing a dynamic shift – look around,
mobile boarding pass, trusted traveler programs, automated baggage drop are some
of the latest advancements in making the journey a bit...011579urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-1ee0ceac-6c32-48a7-a1c0-550562e734baCEO Study industry perspective for Travel and Transportation: Seeking more strategic and tailored customer relationshipsERIC ROGER CONRADeric.conrad@sg.ibm.com270001P27QactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-05-22T09:47:36-04:002012-05-22T09:49:42-04:00By Eric Conrad and Steve Peterson
<p class="MsoNormal">The results of the <a href="http://www.ibm.com/ceostudy2012">IBM
Global CEO Study 2012</a> have been compiled, and this year’s insights are as
compelling as ever. In face-to-face interviews with more than 1,700 CEOs in 64
countries and 18 industries, the global CEO community spoke with a common voice
about three imperatives: Empowering employees through values; engaging
customers as individuals; and amplifying innovation with partnerships.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Travel and Transportation (T&amp;T) CEOs amplify important
trends that are shaping the industry, several of which were highlighted in our
latest IBM industry research, “<a href="http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/thoughtleadership/ibv-travel2020.html">Travel
2020: The Distribution Dilemma.”</a> In both studies we find that consumers
crave connectedness more than ever. Fortunately, T&amp;T CEOs report that they
are working across the ecosystem not only to provide services that reach beyond
their traditional scope of business, but also to collect more and better
information about what their customers truly want.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of the 87 T&amp;T CEOs interviewed for the CEO Study, 73
percent consider improving the understanding of individual customer needs to be
among the most important changes needed to meet customer expectations in the
next three to five years. To accomplish this objective, T&amp;T CEOs plan to
scale back investments in traditional customer engagement mechanisms (such as
call centers, face-to-face channels and traditional media) while increasing
investments in digital interactions through channel partners, websites and
social media.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">T&amp;T CEOs were also clear about their plans to leverage
partners as a source of innovation. Sixty-seven percent of T&amp;T CEOs
interviewed in 2012 plan to partner extensively, compared to only 47 percent
who made that same claim in our 2008 CEO study.<u><span style="color:blue"></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To excel in the era of hyper-connected consumers, T&amp;T CEOs
share one important objective: they seek to develop more strategic and tailored
relationships with customers. Each industry sub-segment translates this
objective into a unique set of imperatives, but T&amp;T leaders are unified in their
quest to collect and apply as much relevant data on customer preferences as
they can in order to continually improve the customer experience.</p><div>&nbsp;For more detail, click: <a href="http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=XB&amp;infotype=PM&amp;appname=GBSE_GB_TI_USEN&amp;htmlfid=GBE03487USEN&amp;attachment=GBE03487USEN.PDF%20">http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=XB&amp;infotype=PM&amp;appname=GBSE_GB_TI_USEN&amp;htmlfid=GBE03487USEN&amp;attachment=GBE03487USEN.PDF </a></div>
By Eric Conrad and Steve Peterson
The results of the IBM
Global CEO Study 2012 have been compiled, and this year’s insights are as
compelling as ever. In face-to-face interviews with more than 1,700 CEOs in 64
countries and 18 industries, the global CEO...001619urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-bbde098b-385f-4c55-b0ec-57f5164ae3e8A Lift for Loyalty - Now THAT is Good NewsERIC ROGER CONRADeric.conrad@sg.ibm.com270001P27QactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-05-22T03:09:51-04:002012-05-22T03:52:39-04:00<div>Research carried out on behalf of IBM in recent years has repeatedly shown that, for many customers, loyalty programs were becoming less and less valued.&nbsp; In fact, in our most recent survey of over 1200 travelers worldwide, nearly half...47%...did not belong to any loyalty program at all.&nbsp; Our earlier survey of over 2000 global travelers put loyalty at the lowest end of the selection criteria of customers.&nbsp; Unless, of course, you were in the top 3% of survey respondents who were top-tier members of at least one loyalty program.<br>&nbsp;<br>Anecdotal evidence supported by numerous other surveys suggest some of the reasons.&nbsp; Top complaints by members often point to an abundance of restrictions and conditions in the use of points/miles, a lack of perceived value in the awards, and, yes, the straight out inability to redeem for the award selected.&nbsp; While there are many operational and financial reasons for these from a travel operator's perspective, they do in our view represent opportunities, particularly when coupled with greater personalization, to re-invigorate customer loyalty. <br>&nbsp;<br>That's why I was pleased to read the most recent Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey carried out by IdeaWorks.&nbsp; In the survey, the third annual survey of its kind, a significant improvement is noted across the industry in Overall Reward Availability.&nbsp; In fact, according to Daniel Farrer, the CEO of Switchfly, "Nine airlines scored above 80% in 2012, which is much improved from five airlines above 80% in 2010, the first year of the survey."&nbsp; The survey highlights that, while LCC's took the top honors, some of the largest global premium network carriers showed significant improvements.&nbsp;&nbsp; Short advance booking redemptions (5-15 days in advance of flight) and "pay with points" value are also analyzed with some interesting (and positive) findings for travelers. <br>&nbsp;<br>In short, this is all good news for the traveling public and, in my eyes, for the industry.&nbsp; There is no doubt that greater and more flexible value for the program points/miles earned will bring a boost to customer loyalty.&nbsp; Combining this with a deeper understanding of our customers to create a more focused and personalized approach to marketing, selling and service delivery I think will make a dramatic difference not only to how&nbsp; customers feel about their preferred airline but, ultimately, how healthy the bottom line of that airline is. <br>&nbsp;<br>Check out the survey yourself at:&nbsp; <a href="http://ideaworkscompany.com/press/2012/press_release_68_reward_seat_availability.pdf">http://ideaworkscompany.com/press/2012/press_release_68_reward_seat_availability.pdf</a></div>
Research carried out on behalf of IBM in recent years has repeatedly shown that, for many customers, loyalty programs were becoming less and less valued.&nbsp; In fact, in our most recent survey of over 1200 travelers worldwide, nearly half...47%...did not...001162urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-ec6cbac4-0224-4a37-b1bf-5a07fc39dcb4Qantas wins Future Travel Experience award for bestTom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-05-08T10:26:16-04:002012-05-08T10:26:16-04:00<div>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.futuretravelexperience.com/fte2012/fte-awards-2012/">Qantas wins Future Travel Experience award for best check-in initiative</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Qantas was awarded the Best Check-in Initiative for its brave and bold approach to enhancing the entire check-in process. The Next Generation Check-In Program, which has been rolled out across Qantas’ domestic network, has embraced RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology to allow passengers to check-in within just five seconds using the innovative Q Card, while permanent, re-useable RFID bag tags have also been developed. The award was presented to Gabriella D’Alessandro, Head of IT, Qantas, by Dee Waddell, Group CIO, Amtrak. </div>
&nbsp; Qantas wins Future Travel Experience award for best check-in initiative &nbsp; Qantas was awarded the Best Check-in Initiative for its brave and bold approach to enhancing the entire check-in process. The Next Generation Check-In Program, which has been...00946urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-08850aa3-835f-4f89-b40b-ca61680238b4BBC video showcases Qantas' new technologies for airport check-inTom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-05-08T10:25:15-04:002012-05-08T10:25:35-04:00<div><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms/">BBC video showcases Qantas new check-in technologies</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>This BBC video shows the self check in solutions from Qantas and IBM<br>New ways of checking-in and monitoring luggage are being developed in an effort to make flying easier for passengers and end the misery of lost luggage.<br>Among the innovators, Australian airline Qantas says its technology can track luggage anywhere in the world while a new check-in process could take less than a minute. <br></div>
BBC video showcases Qantas new check-in technologies &nbsp; This BBC video shows the self check in solutions from Qantas and IBM New ways of checking-in and monitoring luggage are being developed in an effort to make flying easier for passengers and end the...00773urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-c068bcfd-ae4e-4cb2-91f3-6c5b895e04e4The era of fickle flyers. When will loyalty return?Tom Liebtagtwliebt@us.ibm.com060000RKSQactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-05-02T16:42:40-04:002012-05-08T10:07:49-04:00<a href="http://onforb.es/JObuwD%20"></a><div><a href="http://onforb.es/JObuwD%20"></a><hgroup><a href="http://onforb.es/JObuwD%20">
</a><div><a href="http://onforb.es/JObuwD%20"></a><a href="http://onforb.es/JObuwD%20">Forbes - New Era of Fickle Flyers</a> </div><h6>
5/02/2012 @ 3:15PM
<span class="divider">|</span>404 views
</h6>
<h1>A New Era Of Fickle Flyers -- When Will Customer Loyalty Return?</h1>
</hgroup>
<p>By Eric Conrad</p>
<p>Are you forever changing brands? Do you simply take the best offer of the day? &nbsp;Are you hesitant to make long term commitments?</p>
<p>If you’re like most of the 1,200 consumers polled in a recent <a class="zem_slink" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IBM" rel="yahoofinance" title="NYSE: IBM">IBM</a> travel survey, the answer is a resounding “yes.”</p>
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<p>Why aren’t travelers more loyal these days? There are multiple reasons, but three that standout.</p>
<p>First, travel providers (airlines, hotels and car rentals) have made
their seats and rooms available to third-party agencies (think: <a class="zem_slink" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=EXPE" rel="yahoofinance" title="NASDAQ: EXPE">Expedia</a> and <a class="zem_slink" href="http://orbitz.com/" rel="homepage" title="Orbitz">Orbitz</a>)
at lower prices than they offer on their own websites. Before every
trip, we now embark on a complicated treasure hunt to uncover the best
prices. In fact, IBM’s research has found that only 18 percent of the
survey’s participants say that they book a trip during their first visit
to a travel provider’s website. Twenty percent of study participants
spent five hours or more to book their last trip– in some cases, that’s
longer than the travel time itself! Sound familiar to you?</p>
<p>Second, for many people, travel services are now a commodity. IBM’s
research shows that while travelers generally do care about brand
quality and service, they’re rarely willing to spend even 10 percent
more for one brand over another. The proliferation of travel search
engines, which default to a price comparison, has contributed to a
systematic devaluing of the things that can make a travel brand special–
like customer service, convenience, quality and reliability. We scan
prices and travel logistics before we even consider the value of what we
are buying.</p>
<p>This brings us to the third and most troubling reason: the travel
industry’s failure to create a trusted travel planning service that
delivers value for consumers. Savvy third-party search engine
entrepreneurs understand what travelers really want, and are stepping up
to offer personalized recommendations, reviews and one-stop shopping
for a full slate of travel options… Consumers want the flexibility to
weigh the value, price and convenience of various offers while shopping,
and that’s why one-third of travelers prefer using these self-service
tools before approaching a travel provider. The trend is clear: consumer
loyalty is shifting away from travel providers and to search engines.</p>
<p>I recently attended a tourism conference, and I asked three CEO
panelists to discuss their strategies for cutting through the “clutter”
to more effectively reach and convey greater value to their customers.
The three CEO responses are summarized below.</p>
<p>The food and beverage CEO responded with a thoughtful discussion on
how his company gathers information about consumers. &nbsp;He believes that <b><i>data collection</i></b> is critical to understanding customers, providing them with more relevant offers, and maintaining more personal relationships.</p>
<p>The airline CEO was candid in his response saying his company has
plenty of customer data, but the real challenge is knowing how to put
that information to good use. For him,&nbsp;<b><i>insight driven analytics</i></b> are key to delivering the services that aren’t just relevant to customers, but lead to a purchase.</p>
<p>The travel service CEO made this startling comment: “Choice is good!”
&nbsp;In his view, highly informed customers are better able to evaluate
travel alternatives, and his company earns trust by making information
transparent to them. &nbsp;For him, the&nbsp;<b><i>establishment of trust </i></b>is how a brand can rise above the clutter to generate customer loyalty.<br>
<br>
These answers were simple and remarkably related. The interesting point
here is that all three answers – data, analytics and trust – are
interconnected. Simply put, travel providers can establish more fruitful
relationships with their customers by continuously gathering customer
data and using that information to augment their marketing strategies.</p>
<p>Imagine if this theory were put to practice. Nowadays, consumers are
spammed with dozens of marketing emails from travel providers offering
trips to far flung locations (which they never visit), or for an
uber-luxury property (which they can’t always afford) or during exotic
holidays (when they may never travel). &nbsp;Imagine, instead, if consumers
were offered a visit to the city where their family members live, at a
time when they often travel, with lodging at a property where they have a
<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_program" rel="wikipedia" title="Loyalty program">loyalty card</a>. &nbsp;I’ll bet the reaction would be quite positive.</p>
<p>As end customers, we all&nbsp;<i>yearn</i> for relevant and
competitively-priced travel choices that are communicated to us via the
tool we prefer. We are loyal to the third-parties because they are
starting to master how to use information about us and put it to good
use. The three CEOs made it clear that travel providers are starting to
catch onto this simple idea too. &nbsp;If they follow through with
effectively collecting data and deriving customer insight, the fickle
flyers we know now will begin to give their loyalty back to travel
providers—trust me.</p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p><i>Eric Conrad leads IBM Global Services for the Travel &amp; Transportation
Industry, comprising of Air, Travel Related Services, Freight &amp;
Logistics and Rail.</i> </p><div>Online at :&nbsp; http://onforb.es/JObuwD <br></div></div>
Forbes - New Era of Fickle Flyers
5/02/2012 @ 3:15PM
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A New Era Of Fickle Flyers -- When Will Customer Loyalty Return?
...001452urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-03c0131f-fb71-414b-ab3a-0737a273450bTravel and Transportation2013-06-26T16:04:41-04:00